Forbidden
by catastrophicwriting
Summary: Clary Fray doesn't care that much about her brother's overprotective nature- she understands due to their family situation. But it quickly becomes a problem when Clary starts to fall for a boy- one who happens to be her brother's best friend. Will her brother ruin Clary's chance at love, or finally set her free?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey, so I did write fanfiction when I was younger, but obviously my writing has matured since. But I know this fanfic is kind of overdone, so I'm trying to add original elements and hopefully my writing style will stand out.**

 _Forbidden_

Chapter 1

Clary glanced at herself in the mirror once more, a double check that she had everything she would need. After deeming herself ready, she flounced out of her bedroom door, her fiery curls bouncing along her waist.

As she began down the staircase, she called behind her, "Johnathon! We'll be late if you spend any longer admiring your hair!"

Johnathon hollered back a defensive reply as Clary cursed him and his vanity under her breath.

"What was that, sister who doesn't have a car?" Johnathon teased from behind Clary, tugging on a curl. "You don't want me to give you a ride to school?"

Clary flashed him an innocent smile as they walked out the front door and towards the car. The freezing January air of New York chilled her spine, and she wrapped her slim arms around herself in attempt to isolate any heat trying to escape her body.

"Maybe if you wore a longer skirt, you wouldn't be so cold," Johnathon mumbled, glancing at her legs.

Clary huffed in disapproval, choosing to ignore his comment. She settled for an intense eye roll.

As they slipped inside of the car, Clary exhaled loudly, amused by seeing the air escape her lips. Johnathon started the engine and began pulling out of the driveway.

"How long is Luke gone until this time?" Clary asked quietly.

Johnathon shot her a pitying glance. "Next Monday," He replied softly.

"Do you have basketball practice all week?" She asked, trying to keep any whininess out of her voice.

Another pity glance. "Yeah, I do. I could send Jace over after school to keep you company, if you like," He suggested.

Clary huffed again. "Right, because I'm just _so_ pathetic that I need my brother's friend to babysit me. No thanks, I'll pass. I'll have Simon come over."

She could see her brother's shoulders visibly relax as she mentioned the one boy he didn't seem to worry about her with. Excluding his best friend, Jace, of course.

"Plus, Jace probably has some catching up to do with the majority of the cheer team," Clary added, causing Johnathon to let out a low laugh.

"Yeah, probably," He agreed.

They spent the remaining ten minutes in a comfortable silence, which Clary enjoyed. She glanced out her window, watching the various forms of ice-burdened trees pass, her artist fingers longing to sketch some on a fresh piece of paper.

When they reached school, Johnathon dropped Clary off at the doors before parking the car, and she scuttled inside, hoping to keep her limbs from freezing as stray snowflakes embedded themselves into her mane of hair.

Once safely inside, Clary unwrapped her scarf from her neck and began to walk towards her locker. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Isabelle Lightwood.

Isabelle was clad in a one-should red top that hugged her chest in all of the right places, tucked into a tight black miniskirt that appeared to be leather. Her long and slender legs were covered with fishnet tights, ending at a pair of red ankle boots. Her perfect teeth shone as she laughed, flicking a piece of her silky, raven hair behind a slim, naked shoulder.

Clary shook her head. She always thought she dressed fine, in just a black skirt and a plum v-neck, but somehow, seeing Isabelle made her feel as if she was underdressed at a Vera Wang fashion show. Izzy was actually pretty nice, once you got to know her. Clary had been with her on various occasions through Jace, and she actually liked her. But Isabelle hung out with the popular crowd, with countless adoring boys ready to ask her to winter formal. Clary wasn't popular, she was just sort of _there_. No one disliked her, but she certainly wasn't in running for winter formal's Ice Queen.

Throwing a casual wave towards Izzy's direction, Clary paused at her locker, twisting in the combination and pulling it open. Tossing in her heavy coat and scarf in exchange for a chemistry textbook, Clary slammed the door. As she was about to turn, she bumped into another body.

Looking upward, she found Isabelle staring at her. With her heels, Izzy was a solid 10 inches taller than Clary.

"Hey," Isabelle greeted, flashing her a smile.

"What's up?" Clary returned, her curiosity as to what Isabelle wanted peeking through.

After glancing around them, Isabelle lowered her voice, saying, "There's a party at Magnus' house Friday night. Come with me."  
Clary's shock rolled over her. "Me? Why aren't you going with your friends?"  
Isabelle picked at a perfectly-polished fingernail. "We are friends. Also, I'm so over hearing them discuss how hot Jace is. Like, he's my brother. Ew, right?"

"Ew," Clary confirmed with a nod. "But you know John. He doesn't let me go to parties."  
Izzy made a sound of disgust. "Is this the 1800s? Do what you want. Besides, he goes to parties."  
"Yeah, but if I go, he tells Luke. I'm not causing any problems for Luke," Clary said softly.

Isabelle threw her an understanding look. She did know about Clary's family situation, after all. "Well, it doesn't matter. John and his jock friends have a game that night anyway, so he wouldn't know. Why don't you come over after school?" Izzy sounded as if she was pleading. "We can get ready together!"

Clary couldn't understand why Isabelle was acting so desperate. She never had an urgent desire to hang out with Clary before. Also, she wasn't normally this…warm.

"I don't know, Iz," Clary hesitated.

"Please!" Isabelle grabbed Clary's tiny arm, flashing her puppy dog eyes that would make any guy melt.

"Fine," Clary caved, sighing.

Isabelle gave another award-winning smile, and bounced away, her heels clicking along the linoleum floors. Clary shook away the feeling that Isabelle had some ridiculous ulterior motive. Couldn't a person just be nice?

Clary made her way through the bustling hallways filled with loud laughs and hollering, until she reached a door at the end of the hall, marked '204C, Mrs. Hartz.' A small smile crept its way onto Clary's lips. Entering the familiar room, she was met with the smell of paints the noise of stools scraping across the art room's flooring. The smooth wood of the high tables that were covered in splotches of bright paint, some of which Clary had the honor of creating. Pulling out her stool at the seat she has claimed for the past two and a half years, she set her bag down and began to pull out her sketchpad.

"I hope you all had fun over winter break," Mrs. Hartz called from her desk as most of the students entered the room. "I can't wait to start second semester with you all!"  
Clary became lost in her mindless doodles of a girl with raven hair. Her fingers skimmed the lines while her mind wandered helplessly. She was rudely pulled from her mind when the scraping of linoleum notified her that someone was taking the seat next to her.

Glancing over, she was met with a set of broad shoulders. His golden skin gleaming to match his blonde, ruffled hair, and tawny eyes. He flashed her a heart-swelling grin.

"Jace," Clary stated, more out of shock than acknowledgement. "What're you doing here?"

"What?" He asked, placing a hand to his chest. "You don't think I can express my ultimate love for creativity and self-expression?"

Clary raised a delicately shaped eyebrow. He caved.

"I need an art credit to graduate this spring."

Clary let out a chiming laugh, and Jace grew a smile that lit his golden irises.

Jace laid an elbow on the table, casually resting his head on his arm, which happened to do great things for his biceps, as he slowly slid closer towards Clary.

Clary's breath hitched as he came closer and closer. She didn't understand why. But she understood the itch of her fingers to draw every immaculate detail of his chiseled features- the sharp turn in his jaw, the clip of his incisor, the indent of his cheekbone, and the twinkle alight in his sun-filled eyes. Jace Lightwood was a lot of things, but his beauty was inarguable. The artist in her began imagining different shadings she would use to capture the soft, yet angled features of his face, which was steadily creeping closer to her own.

"Plus," He added in a breathy, low voice. "I hear some particularly interesting females may have also needed that credit."

The urge to draw him left her fingertips as quickly as it came. Of course he would only take art to find new hookups. It was easy to forget that this side of Jace was the one most people knew.

The door clanged close and Clary glanced upward, some strands of hair falling into her face. She was met with a view of Aline and Kaelie, two senior girls.

Clary wouldn't have minded the girls particularly, if they hadn't started nasty rumors about Isabelle last year, when Izzy was just a sophomore trying to make friends. No, Clary truly couldn't find herself to care about their reputations of 'giving out,' as John and his friends so endearingly called it. But their cruelty towards Isabelle caused quite the sense of distaste.

Clary "humphed" a noise of disgust, turning back towards Jace. "Really? Those are the kind of girls you find interesting?"

Jace replied only in the form of a slim grin.

"After how they treated Izzy?" Clary probed, insulted on behalf of her kind-of friend. What kind of brother _was_ he?

"Please," Aline let out a sparkly laugh, tossing a streak of blonde hair over her pale shoulder as she and Kaelie took the seats opposite of Jace and Clary. "Tell me we aren't going to discuss that sister of yours, Jace."  
Before Clary had a chance to respond, Jace was delicately tugging the hairs that had fallen into Clary's face back, smoothing them along her red mane until they were tucked gently behind her ear. Clary glanced at him questioningly. Jace didn't often show gestures of affection, towards anyone, let alone her.

"Obviously not," Jace smirked, once again ending Clary's moment of debate.

Clary returned to her sketch of the girl, not quite captured by the intrigue of Aline and Kaelie's thoughts on who would be granted cheer captain.

"You wouldn't happen to be trying out, would you?" Kaelie asked, her voice laced with a layer of amusement.

It took Clary a moment to realize the question was directed at her.

"Me?" Clary asked, shaking her head. "No."

"Wouldn't think so," Aline replied, a hint of smugness tied in it.

"Why's that?" Jace asked. Clary snuck a glance at him to find the smallest frown set upon his lovely features.

Aline lifted a slim shoulder, not bothering to answer.

Kaelie let out a small giggle, suppressing most of it. "Sorry. Forgot you're practically Jace's little sister."

Clary ducked her head, sick of the reminders of just how much of a 'little sister' she was. Perhaps that's why Izzy wanted to hang out with her- because she pitied her.

The homeroom bell rang soon after, signaling a five minute period before class actually began.

Caught once again in bringing the raven-haired girl with blue eyes to life, she almost didn't notice the large, yet gentle hand sweep over her head to ruffle her hair.

With a scowl, Clary looked lower towards her drawing. She didn't need any more reminders that to Jace, she was just Johnathon's sister.

 **A/N: Obviously I couldn't fit a lot of plot into the first chapter, but I have the next couple written and it picks up speed! I would love positive criticism! Hope you liked it**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for the supportive comments on chapter one, they were super appreciated! Hope you enjoy chapter 2 (Also a note: I kind of bounce of different 3** **rd** **person points of view, like the first was Clary's, and this chapter's is Jace. But it will always be 3** **rd** **person)**

Chapter 2

Jace left his last period of the day, swiftly gliding towards the exit. As he entered the buzzing hallway, alight with posters of bright green and white splashing the normally brand brick walls of the school, Jace strode towards his locker, quickly switching the combination. As he opened it to return the textbooks in exchange for his keys, he closed the door. Jace made his way among the swarming students, ignoring the inviting glances of many girls. He was on a mission.

But how exactly did Johnathon expect Jace to find Clary in a bustling hall? The girl could not have been more than two inches over five feet. Jace set himself to bouncing his eyes among the students to catch a glimpse of long, frizzy, red hair. But no dice. With an exasperated sigh, Jace walked towards the locker that he knew belonged to the redhead, but he only discovered someone excruciatingly less pleasant.

"What're you doing here?" Jace inquired, in the sheer form of a sneer.

Simon looked upward, meeting Jace's look with an eye roll. "Is it a crime to be in the hallway?"

"I meant," Jace clarified with a long index finger, "What are you doing at Clary's locker?"

Simon allowed a small frown to settle its way onto his features. "I was with her. She just left. Also, y'know, I'm her _friend_. Why are _you_ here?"

Jace ignored the majority of his sentence. "When did she leave?"

"Are you stalking her, or something? As her best friend, I should probably warn her."

Jace lowered his eyelids into a squinting glare. "I would hardly deem yourself a best friend. More like the pest-like acquaintance who deals with unrequited love."

Simon set his face into a look of disgust, a sign of hatred burning behind his eyes. But he simply turned around, and began walking away with a shake of his head.

Jace let out a sigh and began navigating his way through the hallway once more, this time towards the large doors that held swarms of students, eager to escape the building. He exited the doors, feeling the persistent chill of the air settle onto his bare arms, and made his way towards his car, attempting to avoid any conversations with other students.

He was not so lucky. A few boys from the basketball team called him over as he walked towards the car, and he gritted his teeth in annoyance as he sauntered over to them.

"I'm in a rush, what is it" Jace asked, letting a sigh escape his mouth.

Jordan let out a low laugh, raising his brow. "Something more important than us? Perhaps a sweet girl named Aline?"

Jace resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I would call her a lot of things, but sweet isn't one of them. John asked me to stop by his house. Clary's alone for most of the week."

A couple of the boys nodded their understanding, but Jordan just laughed again. "What, you're a babysitter now? Clary certainly doesn't _look_ like she needs one anymore."

Jace's brows lowered towards his eyes. "What does that mean?"

"You want to tell me that you didn't notice Johnathon's little sister become hot all the sudden?"

Jordan let out another rough laugh. Jace's hands clenched at his sides.

"Yeah, she grew up fine," Jordan continued with a nod, as if agreeing to his own statement.

Jace focused on controlling his breathing, but for some reason, it was becoming increasingly difficult as he felt anger building in his chest. Some of the boys began chiming in with their agreement to Jordan.

"Why don't you put in a good word for me with her?" Jordan asked, gently bumping Jace's bicep with his fist.

Jace resisted the twitching urge to rip Jordan's fist off of his wrist. "John wouldn't let anyone date his sister. Let alone any of you."

Jace walked away, closing his eyes to try and ignore the surge of fire burning his chest. Why did he care so much? He knew Clary was attractive, anyone with eyes did. But he wasn't used to boys commenting on it. It had to be his brotherly sense. He knew Clary since they were children, it was only natural to feel protective.

He finally escaped the chilling air by the warmth granted to him by his car. He had calmed his mind of any concern, and focused on his task at hand. He quickly left the school, feeling irritated that Johnathon didn't inform his sister that Jace was supposed to take her home.

Jace sat silently during the ride, thinking back to his behavior in art class that morning. He didn't know why the words slipped out of his mouth the way they tended to. He let Clary believe Aline and Kaelie were the girls he took the class for, unsure of why he couldn't tell her the truth. It was innocent. Who isn't good friends with their best friend's sibling? It was natural to want to take a class with her. But now he was unable to forget the look of disgust on her face when she thought Jace enjoyed those girls' company.

And he wasn't sure what it was about that hair. He could distinctly remember tugging on that very hair, teasing her with cruel names for it, as children. But it certainly was not raggedy anymore. Clary's hair was like a gentle waterfall, rippling from her skull in soft ringlets, gradually becoming smaller as it reached the indent of her waist. Her hair was fiery and alive, and begging to be touched. He couldn't stop staring at the few stray pieces that landed on her eyes, he felt the burning need to smooth them back behind her small ear. He wasn't sure why her hair intrigued him so, but it seemed to catch his eye often.

Rather quickly, Jace found himself pulling into the Morgenstern driveway, looking upwards at the large brick structure, decorated with elegant lines and windows. Closing his door behind him, Jace walked towards the front door, opening it with his spare key. He closed the heavy mahogany wood behind him, shaking off the excess show from his boots. He waved a hand through his hair, dislodging any snowflakes embedded there.

"Clary, you home? It's Jace," He called out, expecting a prompt reply. But he received none.

Curious, Jace walked softly to the kitchen door, peeking his golden head inside. He resisted the urge to burst into laughter.

There Clary was, dancing around the kitchen in a mess of twirling and bouncing, as a curtain of jubilant red hair swirled around her while her small frame flounced through the kitchen. She looked ridiculous, with some snow still caught in her hair from her walk, and her dancing to the music that was blasting through her earphones was enough to make any sane person guffaw.

But, Jace suddenly realized with a note of solemnness, that she was not expecting company. Her choice of apparel showed that clearly enough.

Clary was clad in only a skintight, black camisole that dipped lower than most of her ordinary clothes. The camisole looked slightly too small, as it rode up to reveal about an inch of smooth, porcelain skin of her flat stomach. Her purple athletic shorts were utterly short, exposing more of her legs than Jace believed he had seen. She wore black socks, which Jace distinctly recalled as belonging to Johnathon, that covered her legs until the bottom of her knee.

"Ahem," Jace spoke awkwardly loud, interrupting Clary's dance party.

Clary let out a small shriek, nearly tripping. She yanked the earbuds from her neck, breathing in loud gasps.

Jace covered his small laughter with a fit of coughs, but he was sure she didn't buy it.

"Jace!" Clary sputtered, breathing heavily and growing the shade of her hair. "Why are you in my house?"

Jace let go of his act of coughing in exchange for a sly smirk, slowly leaning against the kitchen doorway. "I heard there was a dance performance."

Clary's face grew increasingly red, and she grit her teeth. It made her look younger, Jace observed amusingly.

"Oh, please, don't stop on my behalf," Jace continued, placing a hand over his chest. "I would love to see the rest."

Clary let out an angry huff, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why are you here?"

Jace dropped his act. "Johnathon wanted me to drive you home. I was supposed to check in on you, but only Rat Face was at your locker."

Clary frowned, which looked apparently wrong on her soft features. "I don't need a babysitter, Jace, I'm sixteen. I can handle microwaving mac and cheese without adult supervision. And don't call Simon that," She added.

"You knew I meant Simon, though, didn't you?" Jace grinned at her.

Clary now looked irritated, which made her look older. "John really asked you to come over?"

"No, I told you, I came for that riveting performance."

" _Jace_."

"He did," Jace admitted with a look of guilt in her direction.

Clary rolled her eyes and let out a high pitched 'hm.'

"C'mon, Clary," Jace urged, walking towards her. "He just...worries about you."

Clary glared at Jace. "I'm sick of everyone worrying about me," She snapped. "I'm fine. Go home."

Jace feigned a hurt expression, holding his heart. "That isn't very hospitable of you. Come on. Maybe I want to hang out with you, ever thought of that? We can play some X-box. I'll even let you win."

Clary let a small smile peek through. Jace felt his heart softly stutter underneath his fingertips. What the hell was wrong with him today?

"You tell yourself that," Clary smirked, as she began sashaying towards him, her lean legs swaying.

Jace's breath caught as Clary's petite body slightly pressed against his own so that she could slide through the doorway he was still lounging along.

She began her way towards the living room, throwing a confident smirk over her shoulder at him, as he was still glued to the doorway, her crimson hair swaying over her shoulder.

"Maybe then it'll be easier to accept it when I kick your ass," Clary finished her sentence, letting out a loud laugh as she turned back towards the family room.

She continued walking, her padded feet making tiny noises along the wood floors, as Jace couldn't seem to drag his eyes away from her body.

Jace began allowing himself to slowly breathe again. What was _happening_ to him?

 **A/N: I'm not sure how I felt about this chapter. The story becomes better and gains depth as the chapters continue. Please let me know how this one was! Thanks.**


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